The use of wireless communication devices and the demand for wireless communications based access to internet services continues to increase. Service providers are continually deploying advanced access technologies such as, CDMA, and TDMA and now OFMDA to offer innovative new services to consumers. Advances in the number and type of network nodes is leading to increased use of wireless networks by consumers and business users resulting in increased revenues. As more types of packet data applications become widely available to wireless terminal users, e.g., various types of wireless internet services and/or downlink broadcast services in additional to more conventional wireless voice services, there is a growing need for more advanced wireless terminals, e.g., mobile node, apparatus and methods to support multiple services from multiple sources in an efficient manner. The overall air link resources, e.g., frequency spectrum, available for wireless communication use is limited; therefore, efficient use of such resources for the various competing users and applications becomes a very significant consideration, particularly as demand for those limited resources continues to increase. In addition, service providers may desire to be able to offer wireless terminal users the ability to simultaneously execute multiple applications from a single communications device, and those different applications may have different needs, e.g., in terms of latency requirements, data rates needs, direction of data flow, and/or quality of service parameters. In addition, data corresponding to different applications may be best made available from different wireless access resources, e.g., using different carrier frequencies or subbands of a wideband channel creating a need for flexible delivery methods.
In view of the above, there is a need for wireless communication methods and apparatus that support multiple applications operating concurrently on the same wireless communications device. In addition, methods and apparatus that support a mobile wireless terminal simultaneously operating over multiple communication links would be advantageous. It would also be beneficial if such methods and apparatus consider different application needs, different wireless link quality, and/or different user service levels to promote efficiency.